Aftermath
by Alexandra Lynn Martin
Summary: Life on an island can seem impossible to return to once you've seen the world, but they're adjusting day by day. A series of one-shots taking place post-KH2. Rated T for safety.
1. haircut

Kairi thinks about cutting her hair a lot these days.

While she sits in class, aimlessly twirling the tips of her hair around her fingers as her teachers review final exam schedules, she thinks about cutting it short, as short as she wore it when she was little. (How weird is that? Fourteen years old suddenly feels little).

Mostly, though, it's a problem when she trains. Her neat ponytails and tightly wound braids always wind up loose and plastered to her neck with sweat by the end of a session. Her bangs slip out of clips and always wind up in her eyes, and she can't afford such limited vision. (How Riku manages hair in his eyes, she has no idea—but then again, he _did_ spend so much time blindfolded…)

Kairi's noticing that she's starting to look different in the mirror fixed to the door of her closet. She's always been a skinny girl, but now, when she puts on a bathing suit to swim after a long day, her muscles are toned and actually visible. Her palms are calloused (but no longer cracked and bleeding, like they were the first few weeks) and her skin's growing tanned and freckled from so much activity outside. She hasn't been this freckled since she was a child.

She's not the only one who's different though. Riku's hair has grown longer and longer (he wears it in a ponytail these days, with the heat). Sora is no longer the scrawny, gawky thing he used to be. They've grown about a foot between the two of them, and Sora is almost eye-to-eye with Riku now. She's taller, too, but only just clears their shoulders. She looks up to speak to them now, and can't remember when that started.

Maybe if she cut her hair, they'd follow suit. They've all become static since returning home. She could cut her hair, and maybe drag Riku along with her… and then of course Sora would tag along. Maybe the three of them could spend some time together, the way it used to be.

Yes, she _definitely_ needs a haircut.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plot points referencing any of the games in the** _ **Kingdom Hearts**_ **series.**


	2. heights

Sora's gotten much taller these days.

His clothing was comically small when he returned home, at first. Kairi laughed and took him out shopping with his mom, trying to bridge the fragile state of their relationship with deflected questions and cheerful stories. They returned home with tons of clothing, and a spark for the future: he abruptly grabbed his mother and held her upon returning home.

His clothes just _fit_ him differently now, too. Shirts that used to hang from his shoulders now hug his arms, snug around his chest. He's grown into his hands and feet, the awkward spikes of his hair have somehow been tamed, and his voice dropped almost an octave.

Sora was hot now. When did that happen?

She joins him when he goes for a run around the islands in the morning now. She's always more than a few steps behind him, but it's worth it to wake up at 5:30 when she rounds the last corner to the beach and sees him sitting and waiting. He quietly mock-cheers for her as she collapses besides him and, without fail, slings her over his shoulder and runs into the ocean with her. She laughs hard these days, harder than she has in a long time. It's these runs that put her in better shape when she spars with Riku.

Riku had gotten much taller too – but then, he always was the tallest of the three. But that seemed to be where the similarities between old and new Riku end.

He volunteers to keep her company on stormy nights, and though he insists that it's for her sake, she can't help but wonder if he's doing alright. Since she convinced him to trim his hair (though he outright refused to cut it short), his face is more visible these days, revealing deep, bruise-like circles under his eyes. Despite the amount of time they spent outside training, his skin is still pale, and he shows uncharacteristic hesitance when they train together. The days of Riku playfully teasing her, hitting her with a wooden sword on accident, have completely evaporated.

His father left the island sometime during his absence, and despite numerous offers from Kairi and Sora both, he refuses to leave his house. Kairi catches him outside sometimes on her walks home from school, tending to the bits and pieces of the house that have fallen into disrepair. She always stops for some friendly words and a cold drink, but it's never enough to deter him from working. Maybe someday, when the house is finished, they can throw a party. It would do him good to see people, she thinks.

Regardless, though, they're both getting too tall for their own good. She can't help but remember all that they've been through when she sees them now, lanky and overgrown, Sora glowing and Riku withdrawn. At the least though, one thing always made her smile: their rivalry over seemingly _everything_ had calmed down, and they'd grown to be the exact same height.

Maybe growing wasn't all bad.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plot points referencing any of the games in the** _ **Kingdom Hearts**_ **series.**


	3. reputation

Riku and Sora have a bit of a reputation these days.

People in a small town are bound to talk, of course. When two teenaged boys appear home out of the blue, unable to provide where they'd been or what they'd gone through, naturally people are going to speculate. Some people couldn't even remember that they'd gone missing in the first place, but now that they were back, everyone wants to know exactly what had happened. Everyone wants to be first with the gossip.

There doesn't seem to be much external signs of abuse or physical harm – in fact, they're both fitter than when they disappeared. A group of particularly close-minded people choose to believe they left, and returned, of their own volition, for a variety of reasons. To cause a stir. To get back at their families. To find some happiness alone, _together_. Those are the rumors that people don't speak out loud, but the subtext is always there, hanging over them like a shroud when the boys walk together through town.

(No one seems to remember that Kairi had been missing too, for a time.)

Going back to school isn't really an option for them these days, either. Sora, at least, seems to be spending a fair amount of time studying (per his mother's request, probably) but Riku keeps busy at his house, burying the days underneath coats of paint and replacing lumber and, curiously, planting flowers. They are nothing if not dedicated to their activities, but also strangely quiet about everything.

Their united stance is that they can't remember their absence at all. They remember the storm the night that they disappeared, and nothing else until they appeared on the shore. People are quick to poke holes in this story, though. They seem remarkably well-adjusted to the time lapse considering they _couldn't remember being gone_. Their communication with the police involved in their case is very limited, and very sparse. Strangest of all, though, is that they seem untroubled with finding out what happened to them. Who disappears, mysteriously returns, and doesn't even seem to care about it?

Some quick people start suggesting they may have been kidnapped and used for something. They don't seem to have been terribly abused, and the idea that Stockholm Syndrome is holding their tongues is an appealing one. But Sora and Riku deny this claim. They insist there was no foul play, no criminals running free through Destiny Islands. According to their mandatory psych evaluations (which the police department insisted on), they are perfect sound. Just inexplicably missing a chunk of time from their memory.

Judging by any conversation anyone has with Riku, though, it's fairly apparent that he is much different from the 15-year-old boy who thought he could conquer the world. His words are measured, his tone light and impartial, and, most telling, he manages to steer the conversation away from himself with a subtle and alarming accuracy. Sora, meanwhile, is the ray of sunshine he always has been, but he too seems aged beyond natural maturity for his age. He disarms questions with a smile and a swift conversation shift, and to the regular townsperson he seems fairly unchanged. But someone notices one week that he's consistently awake until dawn, watching the stars outside in quiet contemplation. Does he sleep at all?

The nosiest of people are waiting patiently, though. Summer was coming fast, and it seemed unlikely that the pair of boys could remain out of the public eye forever. Sooner or later they'd reintroduce themselves back into society, and after then it was only a matter of time until one of them slipped something… right?

But then, the speculation was half the fun.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plot points referencing any of the games in the** _ **Kingdom Hearts**_ **series. Reviews are appreciated.**


	4. sleepover

The mayor is out of town this weekend, and Kairi insists on a sleepover.

It's a pretty silly concept, and she can't help but laugh despite herself when she asks Sora and Riku. Yes, it's _so_ middle-school-girl, and yes, they're _probably_ too old to still be doing this, but her house will be empty and she doesn't want to be by herself. Playing the scared pity card was absolutely the right move – they agreed almost instantly. (And part of it was true, after all.)

She's distracted all day in class waiting for later. It'll be the first time that they'll be together for more than an hour here or there, and everything needs to go perfectly. She writes lists and lists, snack choices and music and movies they still need to see. She's being ridiculous – they've spent tons of nights hanging out with nothing more than each other's company and it's been fine. But tonight feels important. Somehow, in her mind, if tonight goes well, things can finally start moving forward, closer to the way it used to be.

Sora and Riku arrive promptly together at eight that night. They're greeted by Kairi, who's sitting in the middle of the floor. All the furniture in the large living room has been moved out of the way, and in its place are piles of blankets and pillows. She cheerfully invites them to join her. They laugh, removing their bags and shoes to join her, and she's so nervous and excited that her heart can't calm itself.

It's a little uncomfortable, at first. The conversation always seems to turn to something that at least one of them can't talk about, and her attempts to change topics become sloppier and more transparent. A little bit of the easiness they always had together is missing, but not gone; there are moments when Sora says something silly and Riku cracks a sarcastic comment, and Kairi can't help but laugh at the two of them, and it's normal again. She remains optimistically hopeful.

A few hours later and they've managed to settle down with a movie. Kairi lays wedged between Riku and Sora, the way it always has been, a massive bowl of chips balancing against her stomach. Sora's providing a never-ending string of commentary, interspersed by more thoughtful comments by Riku, and Kairi's so happy that they're all together that she's barely watching at all. A few minutes more and she's managed to doze off.

It's strange to Riku that it almost doesn't bother him at all that she's resting her head against Sora's shoulder. He purposely sits a little straighter, determined to _not_ fall asleep. His dreams have not been friendly as of late, and waking up to shadows has been the worst part. If he can hold out until sunrise, the darkness can't get at him and he'll be safe. As it was, the dark reflective surface of the windows in the house were catching his eye and making him anxious.

Sora, meanwhile, is trying in vain to keep as still as possible, careful not to move or wake Kairi. His energy is through the roof – there wasn't a tremendous amount of time to sleep in the past, and his body's used to running on only a few hours of sleep, if that. So instead he talks, and Riku intently listens, offering all the feedback he can think of.

More hours pass, and the sun is just rising through the bay window across the room. They've made their way through several of Kairi's meticulously selected movies, marveling quietly at her ability to sleep through damn near _anything_. Riku's trying, and failing, to stifle yawns, and even Sora is feeling uncharacteristically drowsy. The ending credits to an action movie are scrolling on the screen, and their conversation, for the first time in a while, tapers to an end. They sit in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes before Riku finally gives in. With a deep breath, and very minimal movement, he manages to lay beside Kairi, wrapping an absurd flowered blanket around him. Sora, too, reclines back, resting his head against the top of Kairi's.

Half-asleep, it's a second before Sora realizes that Riku's spoken. He responds quietly, with a smile, that yeah, he's missed this too, and with that, the three of them are out, only hair and faces visible under a mountain of blankets and pillows.

The next afternoon, with the furniture restored to its original place, the excess food returned to the pantries, and the last blanket folded neatly and put away in a closet, Sora and Riku are finally packed and ready to leave. Kairi walks them to the door, bouncing on her heels, and before departing, Riku comments that once his house is back in an okay state, they should do this again… maybe next weekend?

The resulting smile from Kairi is enough to show that yeah, maybe things were going to be normal someday after all.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plot points referencing any of the games in the** _ **Kingdom Hearts**_ **series. Reviews are appreciated.**


	5. swimming

Riku has started to swim again.

It was only a matter of time, of course – living near the sea, he had learned to swim almost before he had learned to walk. There's a very pleasant feeling of familiarity when he walks down to the shore to swim; years and years of practice guide his feet around sharp shells and scalding sand. His breathing slows to accommodate the deep breaths he takes before going under, and his eyes have readjusted to the salt in the water so he can see. Swimming comes as naturally to him as walking or breathing, and it's one of the things he's missed most while being away.

There are some days, now, when Riku is joined by Tidus. His self-imposed blitzball training schedule requires a few hours of swimming a day, so there are days when they're both out swimming together. They never talk, but wordlessly acknowledge each other, and on those days Riku joins him and swims his circuit. Tidus never seems to mind, and anyway, the company is nice. Riku's noticed that Tidus slows just a little to accommodate Riku's pace.

He takes the time post-swim to lay out on the beach, allowing his sore muscles to rest. The sun dries the water off his skin and with his eyes closed, Riku can almost pretend that he's still 15 years old, sprawled out in the sand after a long day. It's easier to sleep at night when his body is so tired, and it's that thought that prompts him to stay out a little longer every day.

The world is silent under the water, silent and weightless and bright. It's almost the way traveling through the darkness felt, but lighter – and, of course, when he felt like he couldn't breathe, he could always come back up to the surface. The water is clear and on most days, the sun filters through the waves and lights up the water under the surface. There's no shadows underwater.

Riku's body is finally getting back in shape, and he's starting to get some color back in his face. The physical activity is doing him good, and these days Tidus smiles and says hello when he walks by the house. Kairi seems thrilled when he talks to her about his day (she's made a habit of stopping by after school).

Maybe next week he'd start running the old obstacle course again.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plot points referencing any of the games in the** _ **Kingdom Hearts**_ **series. Reviews are appreciated.**


	6. paranoia

It's a late Friday night. The mayor was due to get back hours ago, and yet she still isn't home. It's just past midnight, and Kairi can't focus on anything but the minute sounds of the settling house. Everything sounds like there's someone else in there.

Sora was home with his mother earlier (it's her birthday) but they're probably both sleeping by now. She'd called Riku's house earlier, but no one had answered. The neighbors are probably home, but then, it's a little generous to call them 'neighbors' – it's a few minutes' walk in either direction from the mayor's large property towards the next house. During the day, Kairi loves her house: its spacious hallways and large windows are more than enough space for a woman and her adopted daughter. At night, though, those spacious hallways cast slanted shadows across everything, and the windows show nothing but her own out-of-focus reflection.

Nobody is going to break into the house. Nobody is out there. She's totally safe inside until her mom gets back. It's going to be fine. The darkness can't get at her.

Yet the hairs on the back of her neck are standing up. She can feel her heart pounding against her will, she can almost feel someone watching her from over her shoulder. But she turns around, and no one is there. She moves quickly through the house to the stairs. She's probably imagining the creak of the deck outside… but it wouldn't hurt to check, right?

As Kairi takes the staircase slowly, though, it becomes very apparent that she _isn't_ just imagining someone outside. As she steps onto the floor and begins to turn the corner, she can see, to her horror, a shadowy outline pass by one of the windows near the back door. She scrambles to the closet next to the stairs and pulls out the baseball bat she hid there a few weeks ago. She slips back up a few stairs, leaning towards the corner to listen, clutching the bat to her chest. The lock clicks and the doorknob makes a smooth _swoosh_ noise as it opens. Kairi can't breathe.

"Kairi?"

 _Riku_.

She trips down the stairs and towards the back door where Riku stands, spare key in hand. The tension in her chest eases up and she half-runs towards him. He catches her hard and rests a hand against her head as she cries, half in relief and half in delayed panic, clinging to his chest.

Later, when Riku's got her wrapped in a blanket on the couch, and her breathing has slowed, he gently explains that he'd been out for a walk and noticed that the mayor's car wasn't there, but Kairi's light was on. He didn't have a phone to call her with, and she'd told him about the hidden spare key years ago with an option invitation to always stop by, so he just figured…

She rests her head against his shoulder and takes a deep, steadying breath. There were no shadows coming to get her. No one was going to take her away again. She quietly asks if he'll stay until her mom gets home, and his response is instantaneous. Of course he isn't going to leave her alone like this.

Maybe Sora and Riku weren't the only ones who had changed while they were gone.

A few hours later, the mayor returns home to find them both asleep on the couch, curled up like kittens under a large comforter with the TV flickering in the background. She smiles and quietly makes her way upstairs. No need to wake them up so late at night.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plot points referencing any of the games in the** _ **Kingdom Hearts**_ **series. Reviews are appreciated.**


	7. trains

Sora misses the train.

There are no trains on Destiny Islands. Trains were by no means a permanent fixture in his life. He'd only ridden on one once, after all. But sometimes, when the sun is starting to set on a particularly pretty day, Sora swears that he can hear a train running in the distance. If he closes his eyes, he can see the way the twilight lit up and reflected off the windows. He can distinctly recall the train station, the slight sway as the train stops, or starts, and even how much money a ticket to the beach is.

But that's crazy, right? A trip to the beach would only take a few minutes' walk, tops. He _lives_ at the beach.

One day Sora appears at Kairi's door, arms laden with shopping bags. He seems a little agitated and explains that he's craving sea salt ice cream in a way that's interfering with his normal ability to function. It's very like Sora to be so dramatic about food, but in all the years she's known him, Kairi can't ever remember Sora liking sea salt ice cream.

Regardless, though, she invites him in and patiently reads through the recipe he brought along. He's suddenly a whirlwind moving through her kitchen, measuring heavy cream and taste-testing how much salt he's added, all the while referring back to the small slip of paper. She sits quietly and watches, doodling absentmindedly on a notepad with a crayon. Occasionally he asks for her assistance, and she tries as much as possible (although truthfully, Kairi's never been much of a cook). There's lots of laughter and a small amount of trial-and-error, but hours later, they're sharing a large bowl of what is unmistakably sea salt ice cream.

Sora jumps up from the table to grab another napkin, and as he does he sees the doodle Kairi left on the counter. Carefully sketched in orange crayon is a long train, snaking through a path that leads off around a hill. Kairi remarks shyly that she saw the train in a dream and it's been on her mind all day, isn't that funny?

Sora is so overwhelmed that _someone else understands about the train_ that he takes her hand and pulls her standing and hugs her for a long moment. With his eyes closed, in the silence, Roxas can almost see the way the sun would dance around Naminé's hair.

But then the moment passes and Sora opens his eyes again and Kairi's hair is still very much red. The feeling in his chest is starting to fade and he's overwhelmed and confused, so instead of talking about it they sit again and finish their ice cream.

On the walk home, though, with gold light streaming through the clouds, Sora is sure that he hears a train whistle.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plot points referencing any of the games in the** _ **Kingdom Hearts**_ **series. Reviews are appreciated.**


	8. sunshine

It should be a crime to have finals on such a beautiful day, Kairi thinks.

Thick beams of sunlight are falling in through the windows and across the room where students sit hunched over their papers. From her seat on the left side of the room, Kairi can just see through the window a strip of blue water edging the beach, and though she isn't positive, she _thinks_ that the two figures sparring might be Sora and Riku.

Lucky them. _They_ get to play outside while she discusses symbolic interpretations of death in literature.

She sets her pencil down for a moment, glancing at the clock. She had always been a fast writer, and it baffles her how anyone could possibly need three hours to write two essays. As it is, it has barely been 45 minutes since the exam started, and she is well into her second prompt. But her brain, understandably, doesn't want to think about the structure of her paragraphs.

Though she is wearing one of her sleeveless uniform blouses today, the tie around her neck still feels too warm, and her feet feel suffocated in closed-toed shoes. Summer should never be a time for closed-toed shoes… in fact, if Kairi had anything to say about it, no one would be able to wear shoes in the summer at all. She always loves the way that her feet become calloused and rough from barefoot walks down the road to the beach.

Maybe she is just made for warm weather, Kairi thinks idly. Sora and Riku, too, always seem happier in the brightest and warmest months (or at least, they always had in the past… hopefully that wouldn't change). It seems absurd to her that they ever managed to survive anywhere but on this island, but then, maybe _survive_ is a good word for it. It had hardly been anyone's choice to leave in the first place, and – she stops herself from continuing that thought. No point revisiting what can't be changed.

Kairi herself is feeling lighter these days, and though it _could_ just be coincidence, she attributes it largely to the sun. It's hard to remember anything bad on a day when the water is cool and the sand burns her toes. She's hoping that the weather will have a similar effect on the boys. To their credit, though, they both seem to be making an effort to be more social these days, which makes her happy.

Maybe she'll head down to the beach after she finishes her test. She's taken a few days off training in order to study and really needs to get started again. Kairi is suddenly thankful that she's taken to keeping a spare bathing suit in her school bag – she can hardly fight in her flimsy plaid skirt. Maybe Riku can finally get around to showing her that new kick that he's been practicing. Maybe she could even persuade them both to head down to the old obstacle course; what had been a struggle for her at fourteen would probably be pretty easy now.

Maybe, if they have a productive enough day, they could find that old upturned tree and sit there when the sun sets. Maybe things were getting better every day.

Someone coughs, and Kari shakes her head as she snaps back to reality. With new motivation, she picks up her pencil and enthusiastically attacks the second half of her essay. If she paces herself right, she could be out of the school and at the beach in half an hour.

The sunshine was waiting for her.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plot points referencing any of the games in the** _ **Kingdom Hearts**_ **series. Reviews are appreciated.**

 **Sorry that it's been a while, real life keeps getting in the way.**


End file.
